Fuel economy standards

Good morning! Welcome to The Morning Shift, your roundup of the auto news you crave, all in one place every weekday morning. Here are the important stories you need to know. 1st Gear: Another Attempt To Get California To Back Down The Trump administration wants looser fuel-economy regulations. California, more than a dozen other states and even some major automakers do not, which could lead to an ugly legal battle if it keeps going the way it is. Now, Bloomberg reports that President Donald Trump has a new approach to take on California. That approach, according to Bloomberg, has been rejected by federal courts twice already. From the story: Federal regulators are drafting a proposal that takes aim at California’s cherished authority to set its own smog-busting rules. A leaked draft of the plan that is being finalized for submission to the White House shows that it wouldn’t outright revoke the state’s ability to set pollution standards, but it asserts that a 1975 … [Read more...] about The Way Trump Wants To Fight California On Fuel Economy Standards Has Already Failed Twice

We didn't know last week when California and 16 other states might file a lawsuit against the EPA over President Trump's decision to roll back emissions rules, but it seemed pretty clear that it would happen soon. Our Twitter-poll subject for last week still managed to address the topic directly from the viewpoint of our readers: We noted that the EPA had announced its plans to roll back emissions standards that require cars to get higher mileage from 2022-2025. Then we asked our Twitter followers what level they thought was most appropriate. The EPA has announced that it plans to roll back emissions standards that require vehicles to get higher mileage from 2022-2025. What level do you think is most appropriate? — Green Car Reports (@GreenCarReports) April 23, 2018 More than half—54 percent—responded that standards should be set even higher than the current levels of 54.5 mpg mandated by 2025. (After credits and adjustments, this amounts to about 39.4 … [Read more...] about What level is appropriate for fuel economy standards: Twitter poll results

California has followed through on its threat to sue the Trump Administration over its decision to withdraw proposed fuel economy standards. According to a press release from California Governor Edmund Brown Jr, the state is “moving to curb toxic air pollution and improve car gas mileage” by suing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in an attempt to keep the proposed standards in place. California isn’t alone in this endeavor as it is being joined by 16 other states. In a statement, California Attorney General Xavier Becerra said “The states joining today’s lawsuit represent 140 million people who simply want cleaner and more efficient cars.” He went on to say “The evidence is irrefutable: today’s clean car standards are achievable, science-based and a boon for hardworking American families.” The attorney general then criticized the EPA and, its administrator, Scott Pruitt for refusing to do their job. California Air … [Read more...] about 17 States Suing The EPA Over Its Decision To Weaken Fuel Economy Standards

Smog over Los Angeles, courtesy Flickr user steven-bussEnlarge PhotoAfter announcing its intention last month to roll back emissions standards that require cars to get higher fuel economy, the EPA is now circulating a proposal in Washington to freeze the standards at 2020 levels through 2026. The story was first reported by the Los Angeles Times, and confirmed by Reuters. The proposal so far is a draft, which officials at the EPA and the NHTSA are discussing among others. Officials briefed on the proposal, however, say it is the leading recommendation. EPA spokesperson Liz Bowman declined to comment on the details of the draft plan. "The Agency is continuing to work with NHTSA to develop a joint proposed rule and is looking forward to the interagency process," she wrote in an email to the Los Angeles Times. Rather than continue to ratchet standards up to 54.5 mpg by 2025, as the current law requires, the new proposal would stall out fuel economy increases at just short of … [Read more...] about Draft EPA memo freezes fuel economy standards at 42 mpg through 2026

WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is likely to propose freezing fuel economy standards from 2020 through 2026, according to three people briefed on the matter, a move likely to spark a fight with California and other states backing tougher vehicle emissions rules. The administration is circulating a draft proposal that would include freezing requirements after 2020 as the preferred alternative, but will include a series of other alternatives, the sources said. The formal proposal is expected to be unveiled in the coming weeks and has not been finalized. The Los Angeles Times first reported the plan earlier Friday. The lengthy draft proposal is also expected to assert that a 1975 federal law preempts states from imposing emissions rules, but the administration is not expected to immediately propose revoking California's waiver under the Clean Air Act to set its own rules. Automakers want changes to address lower gasoline prices and a shift in U.S. consumer preferences to … [Read more...] about Administration floats freeze of CAFE fuel-economy standards in 2020-26

In light of the EPA Administrator Scott Priutt reversing the Agency's decision to maintain tighter emissions standards from 2022 to 2025, it seemed time to ask for our audience's opinion. Since 2009, the EPA emissions standards have had a direct effect on fuel economy standards and have been coordinated with the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration—which administers the standards—as well as with the California Air Resources Board, which administers separate, but also coordinated, pollution standards in the state. The standards became coordinated—"harmonized," in engineering legalese—during the gas price crisis and the recession in response to the Energy Independence and Security Act passed under President Bush. DON'T MISS: Pruitt's EPA decision: 38-page intention vs 1,217 pages of analysis In coordinating and implementing the standards, the Obama Administration agreed to a mid-term review of the mpg targets, slated to happen as soon as the next … [Read more...] about How high should fuel-economy standards be set? Take our Twitter poll

A United State Court of Appeals in New York just blocked the Trump Administration’s attempt to continue delaying penalties associated with automakers failing to meet federal Corporate Average Fuel Economy targets. The Trump administration has threatened for many months to repeal the Obama-Era Greenhouse Gas and Corporate Average Fuel Economy standards that require automakers to improve their cars’ fuel economy over the years. In July of 2017, the Department of Transportation announced that it was “re-examining” the penalties that automakers would have to pay if they couldn’t meet fuel economy standards, and that it was delaying the date that such a penalty would go into effect. This spurred the the National Resource Defense Council, a nonprofit environmental group, to sue the DOT. Now the second circuit of the United States Court of Appeals has ruled in favor of the NRDC, restoring the penalty that Engadget says was supposed to have gone into effect in … [Read more...] about Trump’s Fiddling With Fuel Economy Standards: Blocked

Since President Donald Trump’s administration took office, the auto industry has been clamoring to have the strict fuel economy standards set by his predecessor reversed. On Monday, that process began with an announcement by Trump’s Environmental Protection Agency. But the automakers themselves could wind up seriously hindered if the standards are drastically weakened. Consider the current environment of the auto market: sales, most observers agree, plateaued in 2017. Car buyers are already borrowing record amounts to purchase a car and average to loan terms exceeding 70 months. Many of those sales are driven by big SUVs, crossovers and trucks as gas has stayed cheap—for now. And the bottom of the market—that is, subprime borrowers that were offered loose credit for years, helping automakers reach those record sales—are disappearing from the new car market entirely. All signs sure seem to be pointing to shaky, precarious territory, and now, with the … [Read more...] about Why U.S. Carmakers Could End Up Wishing They Never Asked For Weaker Fuel Economy Standards

The EPA explains the previous administration set the standards too high. The American Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) will lower fuel economy standards for cars and light trucks built between model years 2022 and 2025. It could also revoke the waiver that allows California to set its own standards."The Obama Administration's determination was wrong. Obama's EPA cut the Midterm Evaluation process short with politically charged expediency, made assumptions about the standards that didn't comport with reality, and set the standards too high," EPA administrator Scott Pruitt wrote in a statement.The standards Pruitt canceled called for dramatically increasing the average fuel efficiency of new cars and light trucks to about 50 mpg. Last January, the EPA tentatively pegged 2017's average at 25.2 mpg. The agency hasn't revealed details about the new standards, though we'll learn more in the coming months.Pruitt added his team will examine the waiver that lets California regulators set … [Read more...] about EPA to lower 2022-2025 fuel economy standards

The Environmental Protection Agency is expected to overturn proposed fuel economy standards as early as next week. According to Reuters, the government agency will make the announcement at a Chevrolet dealership in Virginia on Tuesday. The announcement is expected to come directly from EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt and the event will reportedly be attended by an assortment of groups supporting automakers and dealers. The specifics of the announcement remain unclear but Pruitt is expected to overturn fuel economy standards that were put in place by the Obama administration. The original proposal sought to increase the average fuel economy rating of new vehicles to approximately 50 mpg by 2025 but it was left open for review in April of 2018 to determine whether or not those targets were feasible. By determining the proposal is no longer appropriate, the Trump administration can now lower the fuel economy standards to something more realistic. Several sources told Reuters the agency … [Read more...] about EPA Expected To Overturn Proposed Fuel Economy Standards